need to gain weight

[ironhardempress]

gosh darn it y'all..I need a little encouragement. I have trouble gaining weight. I gained about 7 lbs after my first Primo cycle (it was sort of a test run) and was looking muscular and good, and then I went and lost it all when I went on my wedding vacation (3 weeks, not eathing enough, not working out other than recreational activities). I've been diligently upping my calories and of course back in the gym and I have only gained a little less than 2 lbs!! HOw can I lose 7 lbs in 3 weeks without even trying, but then when I TRY to gain it comes on so slow!?!? i realize some of that was proly water weight, but still... Its been almost a month since we've been back! I've got my calories up to 2300 (I've been raising them incrementally by 100/week based on what i htought I was intaking on vacay). I don't want to gain a lot of fat but i know my caloric goal is around 2700. Should I just throw caution to the wind and up it all at once? I eat SUPER clean all the time and always have, so it's super tough. I do not eat bread or pasta and rarely do I eat white potatoes (I eat sweet potatoes on occasion). I could eat a lot of peanut butter etc. but that usually ends up blowing my fat macros. I supplement with protein shakes. Suggestions? Thanks in advance. BTW, I lift 6 days a week, no cardio. I'm 5'10" and (almost) 143. I did my Harris-Benedict and it shows I need around 2700 (that's how I came up with that figure).

 

[ironhardempress]

i swore to myself I would not try another cycle again until I gained almost all the weight back and got my calories up.

 

[ToolSteel]

So where do you get most of your carbs from?

 

[bigdog]

you need all the carbs you said you don't eat. potatoes, pasta etc.. meat and potatoes, a lot of them!

 

[ironhardempress]

i eat rice and/or oatmeal every day. I eat a banana every day, and i eat veggies of course. I haven't eaten bread or pasta in years just because I consider them fairly empty from a nutritional standpoint. When I make my protein muffins and pancakes i use oat flour (I grind in a coffee grinder). I just want to put food in my body that is the best value nutritionally, not just because I am trying to stay healthy and make gains, Ive just always been like that---hate to waste money on food that is nutritionally bereft. As far as my macros go I generally hit my protein, overshoot my fat (not by much) but fall short of my carbs. My macros in grams are as follows: 201C 64F 230P for a total of 2300. I eat a lot of eggs/egg whites, fish and chicken. I produce too much iron naturally so I only eat red meat once a week (per my doctors recommendation).

 

[Lilo]

Complex carbs that are not potato: barley, lentils, beans, buckwheat.. And so on.

Sweet potatoes are hardly "empty"...though for carbs if I had to choose between getting regular potatoes and bread and pasta vs. not getting enough cals in, I'd go with the bread and pasta

Or... Maybe you want to play with your macros a bit and see if you do well lowering carbs just a bit and raising fats.

 

[MrRippedZilla]

Well, if you need 2700 cals but your only getting 2300....not exactly difficult to work out where the issue is

Bump the cals up immediately (none of this slowly over weeks shit, your just delaying your progress even further).

 

[Milo]

You're getting plenty of nutrition from what you've listed. Depriving yourself from pasta and bread, regardless of how you feel about their nutritional content, is holding you back. To gain weight you need carbs and those are two huge contributors.

 

[ECKSRATED]

Pictures in a bathing suit would help us help you even more.

 

[PillarofBalance]

Try the see food diet

 

[Armenian]

Complex carbs are great for fiber content and keeping insulin levels stable........ which isn't exactly what you are looking for if you are trying to gain weight. Hell even John Meadows would eat a Sweet Cherry Pie post workout everyday.... Promote insulin release responsibly or until your goals are reached.

Foods that help: White Rice (doesnt fill you up and can eat a lot of it), White/Red Potatoes, Fruit Juice, Pasta, Noodles, Cereal......

Good Luck!

 

[DocDePanda187123]

Complex carbs are great for fiber content and keeping insulin levels stable........ which isn't exactly what you are looking for if you are trying to gain weight. Hell even John Meadows would eat a Sweet Cherry Pie post workout everyday.... Promote insulin release responsibly or until your goals are reached.

Foods that help: White Rice (doesnt fill you up and can eat a lot of it), White/Red Potatoes, Fruit Juice, Pasta, Noodles, Cereal......

Good Luck!

You need to go back and do more research on nutrition, specifically insulin.

 

[Armenian]

You need to go back and do more research on nutrition, specifically insulin.

Really? Tell me how increased insulin levels in the body don't help you gain weight?

 

[Tren4Life]

Gallon of milk a day will put pounds on anyone.

 

[MrRippedZilla]

Really? Tell me how increased insulin levels in the body don't help you gain weight?

Because caloric changes influence hormonal changes - NOT the other way around
Jacking up insulin through carb choices or whatever, without a change in calories, will not result in weight gain for the same reasons why lowering insulin through macro manipulation doesn't result in weight loss.

As Doc said, you need to re-educate yourself and here is something I wrote a while ago to get you started: https://www.ugbodybuilding.com/threads/20081-Calories-vs-Insulin-Calories-win

 

[PillarofBalance]

Really? Tell me how increased insulin levels in the body don't help you gain weight?

John Meadows injects actual insulin. That's a huge difference. Plus he will eat a surplus of calories.

Yes hormones play a role in weight gain but you can eat all the sugary shit you want, without a surplus of calories you gain nothing.

A guy did the twinkie diet a lost weight. Perfect example there that's easily understood.

Picture a scale. On the left is energy intake (food) and the right side is energy expenditure (vital functions and movement). Are they equal or does one weigh more than the other?

Tip the scale to the left and you gain weight. Tip to the right and you lose weight.

That is nutrition 101 and is the only solution to any thread asking how to gain or lose weight.

 

[Armenian]

calories are King, but I don't think if you are having a hard time increasing calories complex carbs are the way to go. You need to eat to grow and stuffing your stomach with fiber isn't going to help.

I am assuming through her calculation of tdee she was already eating a surplus

Tapering calories higher and higher is obviously the first route to take

 

[DocDePanda187123]

calories are King, but I don't think if you are having a hard time increasing calories complex carbs are the way to go. You need to eat to grow and stuffing your stomach with fiber isn't going to help.

I am assuming through her calculation of tdee she was already eating a surplus

Tapering calories higher and higher is obviously the first route to take

Why wouldn't complex carbs be the way to go (or any type of carb for that matter)? Complex carbs have calories do they not?

 

[Armenian]

Why wouldn't complex carbs be the way to go (or any type of carb for that matter)? Complex carbs have calories do they not?

Some people can't shove xxxx amount of calories down their throat guy, if that's the case why spend time on complex carbs that typically have a lower kcal/volume than something else?

I Am not saying it's the healthiest route, I am saying it is a realistic route for a hard gainer or someone with lack of appetite, which is what I thought she was saying. Rereading her post I was wrong

 

[DocDePanda187123]

Some people can't shove xxxx amount of calories down their throat guy, if that's the case why spend time on complex carbs that typically have a lower kcal/volume than something else?

I Am not saying it's the healthiest route, I am saying it is a realistic route for a hard gainer or someone with lack of appetite, which is what I thought she was saying. Rereading her post I was wrong

Don't mistake me for being a clean eater freak. Ask some of the guys here, I eat whatever I want when I want. I don't care if it's loaded with sugar, fats, carbs, whatever. If I can fit it into my mouth and it's not ch**se I'll eat it (especially Iron1's pp).

I'm just saying, any carbs will do and which carbs specifically OP should choose are the ones that she enjoys and don't cause her issues eating.